井手の玉川|Jewel River at Ide (Ide no Tamagawa)

Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1768 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Holding the skirts of their kimonos above the water, three women wade in a shallow stream from a bank where yamabuki flowers grow. With elegance and great care they are venturing across the river. This particular print shows a famous scenic place on the Jewel River at Ide in Yamashiro Province, modern Kyoto. A square cartouche bears a title and a poem by the celebrated poet Fujiware no Shunzei (1114–1204): Tamagawa at Ide by Shunzei As I stop my horse to give him water, dew from the yamabuki flowers is lost in the stream of Tamagawa at Ide. (trans. by Miyeko Murase) The images of the three women are borrowed from the illustrated book by Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671–1751) entitled Ehon Chitose-yama (Picture Book: Thousand-Year Mountain), displayed next to this print. In Harunobu's print, it is not clear why the maid on the right is looking over her shoulder. However, in Sukenobu's illustration, the maid actually looks back at a fourth figure behind her. Ignoring the fourth woman, Harunobu borrowed only three figures from Sukenobu's illustration, almost cutting them out for transplant into his print. A significant change in Harunobu's print is the treatment of the women's feet, which are visible under the clear water.

Artist

Suzuki Harunobu

Date

ca. 1768

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1946